Book Review: Evolution (Evolution Series Book 1) by Kelly Carrero

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Evolution (Evolution Series Book 1) by Kelly Carrero

A YA Sci-Fi Novel published by Amazon Digital Services LLC (04/29/12)

Summary:

Jade is your average 17-year old high schooler with the hot boyfriend and good grades. She is perfectly normal, that is, until she gets into a serious car accident and magically heals in front of her own eyes. What is this super power and what’s going on? Jade’s boyfriend, Aiden, is more than meets the eye and together they will have to figure out what happened to Jade’s best friend when she disappears.

Keywords:

High School, Super Power, Female Protagonist, The Special One, Seventeen, Kidnapping, Australia, Relationship, Broken Home, Reveal, Secrets

My Review:

If you want a fast easy read with the female special chosen one, a bit of romance, and continuous action, then this is your novel. This book featured a nice blend of action and mystery but was altogether too short for me to fully get into the plot or the characters. The book kept me intrigued and kept me turning pages, but the plot was a little too much like all the other Chosen One tropes with a teen superhero that has evolved – suddenly – beyond normal human capacity. In essence, despite the action, the book was a bit boring because it presented nothing new.

The main character, Jade, was frustrating because she couldn’t guess what was laid plainly for the reader.

A lot of the world building was left out of the novel. What do the characters look like? I didn’t even realize we were in Australia, other than the spelling of “sceptical” multiple times to indicate we weren’t in North America. This book and its world building could have benefitted from being longer and taking more time to go into depth into the si-fi/fantasy element and the background/personalities of the characters. The ending also left something to be desired. Overall it was a fun read, but I won’t be reading any more from this author.

This novel was published by Amazon Digital Services LLC on April 29th, 2012 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 3.50

Links for more information:

Kelly Carrero’s Website and Blog

Goodreads

Book Review: Beauty and the Bridesmaid by Lisa Souza

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Beauty and the Bridesmaid by Lisa Souza

A Contemporary Romance Novel published by Wet Coast Media, LLC (5/30/14)

Summary:

Nothing is going on in Dot’s life. After atteneding her mother’s fourth wedding and meeting the image consultant Kennedy J, who promises to do her for free, Dot takes the plunge. A strict exercise and diet as well as hypnotism regime turns into weight loss and plastic surgery and an entire wardrobe and personal makeover. After her transformation is complete, Dot meets Jmiller and they date. Everything seems to be going well, until John introduces Dot to his best friend, who happens to also be Dot’s former high school bully.

Keywords:

Bridesmaid, Plastic Surgery, Self-Confidence, Nutrition, Diet, Exercise, Cynicism, Boyfriend, Tragedy, Bully, Transformation, Technology, QA, Weight Loss, Extreme Makeover

My Review:

I love makeover stories; however, for a woman to put herself through hell and back just to be ‘attractive’ according to societal standards does grate on the back of my mind. But this story was told as if it was reality and I’m sure there are plenty of women who feel society’s pressure to be pretty and thin and who do something about it, maybe not as extreme as Dot to achieve her end result. I really did like how her transformation was complete and encompassed good living style according to nutrition and exercise and putting effort into her wardrobe.

The twist near the end caught me by surprise. No spoilers! But this twist made me pull back from liking the book as well as I was up until that point. It was a disappointing turn.

This book was humorous and Dot’s perspective was told realistically and with all the details I would want with a character such as herself. I also really appreciated the full experience of going through Dot’s transformation and I understood how hard and painful all the steps were according to her story, fictional though it was.

This novel was published by Wet Coast Media, LLC on May 30th, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50

Links for more information:

Goodreads

NaNo November 16: It’s Over, Did I Win?

by in For the Love of Donuts, NaNoWriMo, Rachel Barnard | 3 Comments

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A few final November statistics for you!

  • There are 19 business days in November which equals 152 total working hours in an average 9-5 job. I worked 213.5 hours in November between my two jobs (and that’s 26.2 8-hour days!)
  • I wrote 20 days out of the month
  • I read 3 books (Krampus audiobook, Beauty and the Bridesmaid eBook, and Vegan Teenage Zombie Huntress print book). I’m still in the middle of reading Ishmael print book, The Seeker’s Keys Ebook, and Second Glance audiobook)
  • I had 5 events, 4 were author-related sales events (Small Business Saturday with the Neverending Bookshop, Oddmall in Everett which was 2 days, Bard & Starlet with FreeValley Publishing, and a one day popup Oddmall show)
  • I went to 10 write-ins

Here is page one of the first draft!

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Book Review: Vegan Teenage Zombie Huntress (The Redvale Zombie Prom Series) (Volume 1) by G. G. Silverman

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Vegan Teenage Zombie Huntress (The Redvale Zombie Prom Series) (Volume 1) by G. G. Silverman

A YA Humor/Fantasy Novel published by G.G. Silverman (09/5/14)

Summary:

Clarissa Hargrove wants to go to prom. Not to dance and participate in one of the most iconic teenager events, but to protest, because prom is for conformists. Clarissa drags along her best friend Cokie and they set up their bullhorns and picket signs outside the school. Good thing they didn’t go into the gym to dance because as the night progresses, almost everyone turns into zombies and Clarissa and Cokie must round up the survivors and escape the maze of death their school has turned into!

Keywords:

Zombies, High School Prom, Alternative to Prom, Vegan, Protest, Escape, Death, Dying, Gore, Guns, One Night

My Review:

Clarissa is an edgy character. She swears. She’s a vegan. She doesn’t go to prom, she protests prom. Clarissa is an interesting character you can get behind because she has a mission and nothing will stand in her way. She has conviction in spades. Her best friend Cokie is a muted version of Clarissa, until she opens up and tells her friend and the readers who she really is and what she really wants, which was way cool!
This was a fast read with a steady pace full of action and adrenaline. I never thought our main characters were going to get eaten and some of the plot twists were a bit fast for my liking, but overall I enjoyed this book. I liked the writing style and how the author, through her main character Clarissa, viewed prom, teenagers, zombies, culture, friendship, and bravery.

This novel was published by G.G. Silverman on September 5th, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.00

Links for more information:

G. G. Silverman’s website

Goodreads

Twitter

Small Business Saturday and a Bout of Food Poisoning at 5AM

by in For the Love of Donuts, Local Authors, Local Eats, Local Events and tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

I started the day strong at St. James Espresso in Kirkland with the Elsewhere NaNoWriMo meetup and had a pecan sticky bun (but don’t worry I didn’t eat the pecans, just the good part). I got a couple thousand words in!

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Off to the Small Business Saturday event at the Neverending Bookshop in Bothell for a joint author event with debut author Lori Summerville and her debut fantasy novel, “Fall Through.”

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Then Paul took us out to lunch across the street at the lovely Alexa’s Cafe! I’d never been and couldn’t help but get one of their peculiar looking cinnamon rolls and it was THE BEST EVER! My curry chicken sandwich on a croissant was also quite delicious.

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On the way to Paul’s gig at Tab’s in Kenmore, I stopped in at my favorite local donut shop, Daddy’s and tried out one of the seasonal combos!

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After eating leftover Thai food and two snacks and two drinks at Tab’s I finished the day with mild food poisoning at 5AM…

Book Review: MORE (MORE Trilogy Book 1) by T. M. Franklin

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MORE (MORE Trilogy Book 1) by T. M. Franklin

A Fantasy Novel published by The Writer’s Coffee Shop Publishing House (10/3/12)

Summary:

Ava is failing physics. Her professor proposes a tutor at no cost to her and she jumps at the chance, since she needs to pass the class to keep her scholarship. She can’t afford tuition without the scholarship and spends enough time working to make up the difference anyways. Her tutor, Caleb Foster, seems to be everywhere in Ava’s life and she doesn’t much mind, other than that funny feeling she keeps getting that she’s being watched.

Keywords:

Supernatural, Paranormal, Race, Powers, Super Powers, Physics, College, Diner, Working, Romance, Drama, Humans, Protection, Fighting, Fleeing, Taking a Stand, Capture, Threat, Elimination

My Review:

The first half of this book was rather boring and I kept waiting for the action to pick up, which it did, with a fury. Suddenly Ava’s life was turned upside down and she was in constant fleeing mode.

Though the book was slow to get going, the ending was much more satisfying, but by that point I was ready to put the series down. The plot twists were too convenient, moving characters where they were needed in the narrative without proper placement within the plot. Characters like Lucy and Ava’s childhood friend were dropped off when Ava’s story took off. The plot just didn’t do it for me. The story wasn’t different enough from all those other “chosen one” novels and the paranormal aspect was not original either. I also didn’t feel like I ever really got to know Ava as a person before she was swept up into her supernatural character role.

This novel was published by The Writer’s Coffee Shop Publishing House on October 3rd, 2012 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 3.25

Links for more information:

T.M. Franklin’s Website

Goodreads

Twitter

NaNo November 16: Week Three Update – Still Behind, Still Writing

by in For the Love of Donuts, NaNoWriMo, Rachel Barnard | 2 Comments

This time last year I was already a winner of NaNoWriMo. I had it together. I had time. I had plot. I had motivation. I had friends. I have a lot of those this year, but I lack some essentials: like time and good plot to work with. At this point in my novel (at 30,500) my characters are saying anything that comes to mind and they are meandering all over the place! I’m consistently 5k or more behind but I have hopes of finishing strong over the Holidays and my first weekend that isn’t jam-packed with events.

Carry on my writers! Whether win or lose, at least you will be focusing on writing!

I’m also attempting to revise a short story for an anthology, getting one to two short stories together for a December 1 deadline, and keeping the rest of my life together!

Happy Turkey day in advance!

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The Fun, the Weird, the Odd and Holiday Shopping – Oddmall

by in Free Valley Publishing, Local Authors, Local Events, Rachel Barnard and tagged , , | 2 Comments

Once again we were at Oddmall! Combination of NIWA and FVP table, this time around was shopping for holidays! Remember last June? This time the venue was larger, the parking was grander, and the surroundings were just a tad bit more red and green…

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My booth neighbor with her ‘sipping vinegar’ selling to the faeries.

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The view from the second floor!

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Requisite, this-is-my-booth photo!

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Different angle of our booth!

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Looking out from my space with my new book that I’m reading.

 

Book Review: Across the Ages 1 by RaShelle Workman

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Across the Ages 1 by RaShelle Workman

A Fantasy/Time Travel Romance Novel published by Polished Pen Press (12/21/14)

Summary:

Lucy Channing lives in 1815 in England. She is supposed to marry her childhood best friend… Whom she does not love romantically. Holding out that something will change her fate, Lucy’s grandmother comes through with a locket to transport Lucy to her true love. Traveling to 2015 is quite a shock to Lucy, especially when the first person she meets is the arrogant, egotistical William Godwin.

Keywords:

Romance, Time Travel, Love, Fantasy, Mystical, 19th Century, 21st Century, Shock, Dressing, Helpless, Forced Marriage, True Love

My Review:

The first chapter was completely unnecessary and was only mildly related to the story told in the rest of the novel. I skimmed it so I could get to the actual story being told.

Lucy lives a typical life in the 1800’s in her class, but she has atypical feelings for a woman in her time. She thinks she can marry for love and passion and is not satisfied with her soon to be betrothed because she is not in love with him. Because she still loved him as a friend, it wasn’t that big a deal for her to find her ‘true love’ because the match was a good one! She could have learned to love Dashel and had a good life.

I absolutely enjoyed every minute and thought Lucy had when she was spirited 200 years into the future. I understood so well what she was going through because it was described in great detail and her thoughts were spot on. She was a traveler in a new land and new time and new world.

I didn’t believe in the romance between Lucy and her ‘true love’ William. It felt forced and rushed.

The pacing was very uneven and the ending was incredibly rushed and then abruptly left off. I will not be reading further.

This novel was published by Polished Pen Press on December 21st, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 2.50

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Twitter

RaShelle Workman’s Website